History of the Germans

Dirk Hoffmann-Becking started this podcast as a pandemic project and somehow turned it into one of the most respected chronological history shows running today. Now in its ninth season with 240 episodes, History of the Germans traces German-speaking Europe from the early medieval period through reunification in 1991 — and he's still going. The format follows the tradition set by Mike Duncan's History of Rome and Lars Brownworth's Norman Centuries: one narrator, chronological order, roughly 25-35 minute episodes released weekly on Thursdays. But Hoffmann-Becking brings his own flavor. He's got a dry, wry sense of humor that keeps the material from ever feeling like a textbook reading. When he covers the Investiture Controversy or the Hanseatic League, you get the political maneuvering and the human absurdity in equal measure. The show is completely ad-free, which is increasingly rare. Hoffmann-Becking provides full transcripts and supplementary materials on his website for listeners who want to go deeper. His coverage of the Ottonian emperors, the Hohenstaufen dynasty, the Teutonic Knights, and the rise of the Habsburgs has won over a loyal audience — the podcast holds a near-perfect 4.9-star rating from over 460 reviews. If you enjoyed History of Rome or History of Byzantium and want another long-form chronological series to commit to, this fills that exact spot. It's the kind of show where you start with episode one and genuinely look forward to the next 239.